Abraham Lincoln: Uniting a Nation

Abraham Lincoln’s contributions to our American history are very substantial in regards to his literature, policy and even his personality. He is considered to be one of the most striking political figures with a recognizable American historical personality and progressive presidency. Being raised during the frontier made him into the independent, hard working and self made man he became throughout his lifetime. Lincoln practiced law as a way to encode what we value as people which essentially lead him in his beliefs of moral rightness as a union, where he focused his goals in keeping the nation together through a seriously trying time.

Leadership in Crisis

Being the president during the Civil War must’ve put Abe Lincoln in a precarious and stressful situation. Surprisingly, he really did make the most of the situation and didn’t seem to let the pressure get to him due to his strong public perception. He was very strategic and articulate in all his literature which made him an extremely respectable figure.

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Lincoln seemed to always have the best intentions, looking out for the nation as a whole. This perception comes across clearly in his First Inaugural Address where he ensures the rights of states while also making his public opinion more clear. He strived for union but also admitted he was unsure whether integration would ever be possible due to the wide cultural gap that was forged between the North and the South. As stated in the lecture “Abraham Lincoln and the Changing Tide of War”, he avoids addressing slavery initially because he knew it would’ve started a war from his first day on.

However, by the time of his Second Inaugural Address, there is a complete change from rhetoric state’s rights to the moral issue of slavery as reason for war. His more private beliefs are surfaced as he wants to bring the nation back together with the desire to end slavery and give freedom for all. Lincoln makes an attempt to begin reconciling and unifying the North and South with comments such as, “With malice towards none; with charity for all… let us strive on to finish the work we are in”(847). He makes large gestures like this throughout which were meant to heal the war torn nation. This did the best it could for this time but ultimately these dividing lines of the country didn’t diminish easily or ever go away in some people’s minds. Discrimination towards those of color can be tied back to views and thoughts that were extremely prevalent during the Civil War such as Geroge Fitzhugh’s beliefs. His literature discusses how he thought the profit of labor justified slavery and made it a good thing for the people overall. He comments on how he genuinely saw the abolitionists negatively as they were trying to take away a slave’s “orderly” lifestyle. Fitzhugh used Christian arguments to explain this saying they are better off this way and more free. For example, he states, “The negro slave is free, too, when the labors of the day are over, and free in mind as well as body; for the master provides food, raiment, house, fuel, and everything else necessary to the physical well-being of himself and family” (16). Despite his optimistic beliefs of this entire process, the treatment of slaves was rarely ever upkept like this. These types of inhumane values are vastly different from what Abraham Lincoln was trying to achieve in the end and for that, we can be very greatly for as a nation. For such a controversial time, Lincoln was the perfect candidate to take on the role as the leader and push America in the right direction.

Altogether, due to Abraham Lincoln’s moral arguments, eloquent ways of uplifting the nation in times of struggle and moreover his assurance of unity, his contributions to American democracy are tremendous and commendable. Without his grace and extrusive leadership, our nation may not have recovered from this harsh divide or persevered forward. Lincoln shaped the purpose of the Civil War, making it an anchor for the concept of liberty and justice for all.

Works Cited

1. Fitzhugh, George. Cannibals All!, or Slaves without Masters. Ed. C. Vann Woodward. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1966. Print.
2. “Lecture: Abraham Lincoln and the Changing Tide of War.” Core Humanities 203.5501. UNR. Accessed 10/6/19.
3. Lincoln, Abraham. Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, Milestone Documents in American History, 1865. Print.